5 HR 'don'ts' inspired by Netflix's Tiger King

If you are one of the two people left in America who has not yet watched the true-crime documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness on Netflix and don't want to read any spoilers, you may want to turn back now. Otherwise, here are five HR tips on what not to do, inspired by Joe Exotic's unique brand of unhinged managerial madness.

Hey, no manager is purrrfect

Don't turn blind eye to safety. Joe Exotic's safety protocols at his privately run zoo were, to put it gingerly, less than stringent. Hopefully, your employees aren't in real danger of having their arms ripped off by a tiger or being threatened with guns on a daily basis, but all businesses must abide by the Occupational Safety and Health Act's (OSHA Act) General Duty Clause and provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Companies must also comply with all applicable OSH Act regulations.

Don't fraternize with the help. There's no law against dating or even marrying someone you work with, but romantic entanglements can be risky business, especially when one of the individuals in the relationship has supervisory authority over the other. Just because Joe Exotic decided to enter into a polygamous marriage with two guys who worked for him at his private zoo in exchange for meth and one-on-one tiger time, you should probably think twice about allowing employees to fraternize at your business.